Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Every Thursday GTA 6 O'clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts. Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon. Every Thursday The Setup Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Every Saturday The Watchlist Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! The developers behind Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection peeked over the shoulders of other modern turn-based RPGs, and have specifically called out the influence that Metaphor: ReFantazio and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had on the upcoming game. Capcom is once again spinning its big beast battling series off into a JRPG in the form of Monster Hunter Stories 3, but a lot has changed since the last game in the subseries launched almost a decade ago. So, speaking to Automaton, lead designer Daisuke Wakahara says the team studied the "high-profile" turn-based RPGs of recent years "that incorporate unique ideas, such as Metaphor: ReFantazio and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33." You can see some of that inspiration surface in Monster Hunter Stories 3's new demo in so far as you can now squash low-level enemies in the field, without getting sucked into a turn-based fight, as was the case in Metaphor: ReFantazio. But the duo, which were recently bundled together on Steam, also had a wider impact on Capcom's game. Baffling Capcom once again, Monster Hunter Stories 3 players are taking down superbosses despite the demo's level 10 cap JRPG maestro behind Persona and Metaphor ReFantazio has played Clair Obscur Expedition 33, says it's "very well made" Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director says "very Japanese" gameplay makes the JRPG possible to play "without taking a single hit" "We feel there's a clear preference toward games that let players progress smoothly and quickly, without levelling feeling like a chore. The idea that players should receive some kind of reward for specific actions they take has become quite refined across the industry, and we made a point of incorporating that approach ourselves," he adds, before noting that the team still "refused to compromise on making the battles satisfying and challenging." The Monster Hunter Stories team were supposedly aware that "making things convenient and making them easy are two different things," so combat won't be streamlined or artificially simplified "just to speed up the pace." In fact, in some ways, it sounds like the opposite happened, as game director Kenji Oguro says "the most exciting moment in a game is when you win by the skin of your teeth," and those are the kind of moments the developers "aimed for." We'll see how it shakes out when Monster Hunters Stories 3: Twisted Reflection launches for PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S on March 13, 2026. Baffling Capcom once again, Monster Hunter Stories 3 players are taking down superbosses despite being capped at level 10 in the RPG's free demo